Wire spacing mechanism



May 14, 1963 CRQM 3,089,656

WIRE SPACING MECHANISM Filed Sept. 9, 1960 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIG. I

FIG. 2 INVENTOR.

JOHN M. CROM BY KENWAY, JENNEY, WHTER & HILDRETH ATTORNEYS May 14, 1963 M CROM WIRE SPACING MECHANISM Filed Sept. 9, 1960 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG. 3

IN VEN TOR.

JOHN M. CROM BY KENWRY, )FNNEY. WITTER R HII HRETH ATTORNEYS May 14, 1963 J. M. CROM 3,089,656

WIRE SPACING MECHANISM Filed Sept. 9, 1960 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 FIG. 4

INVENTOR. JOHN M. CROM KENWAY, JENNEY, WITTER & HILDRETH ATTORNEYS United States This invention relates to the circumferential banding of the upright and continuous wall portion of large tanks with reinforcement of wire or the like under predetermined tension and wrapped helically about the tank wall, thus placing and holding the wall under substantial compression. The banding thus applied comprises a succession of convolutions of the wire on and in spaced relation about the cylindrical wall and the uniform spacing of these convolutions on the wall is of considerable importance. Otherwise two or more adjacent convolutions will frequently contact each other and form a cavity or cavities behind the wires which cannot be reached with the Gun-ite spray that is employed to cover the wires and such cavities form channels under the wires and carry water which may enter through flaw-s or leaks in the wall. Such flow of water in the channels finds exit through shrinkage cracks in the cover coatings and the entrance of air together with the water will eventually rust and destroy the wires. Such defects cause leakin my Patent 2,858,084. A wire guiding sheave 68 is supported by a cable 70' hung from a hand winch 72, and means 18 attached to and extending rearwardly from the sheave block 74 provides a towing connection to my novel wire spacing trailer mechanism 20. The tractor is connected to the carriage 60 by a cable 76 and to the sheave block by a cable 78, whereby the carriage and block are trailed from the tractor. The wire being trailed onto the tank from the tractor passes through a reducing die 26 which places a predetermined tension on the wire which passes therefrom rearwardly over the sheave 68 and to the trailer mechanism 20. 1

age and require very difiicult and expensive repairs. Uniform spacing of the wires by my invention permits of no such channels and eliminates these destructive, troublesome and expensive defects.

In mechanism heretofore employed the spacing of the convolutions is commonly eifected by manually lifting or lowering the banding mechanismas described in my Patent 2,370,780which alsodis closes mechanism for automatically thus continuously lifting or lowering the banding vehicle. It will be apparent that such manual adustment does not provide uniformly spaced convolutions and that the automatic mechanism disclosed in said patent is complex and expensive. The primary object of my present invention resides in the production of a relatively simple and inexpensive mechanism for automatically performing this wire spacing function with perfect accuracy and at minor expense.

These and other features of the invention will be best understood and appreciated from the following description of a preferred embodiment thereof selected for purposes of illustration and shown in the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary side elevation of a tank banding mechanism embodying my invention,

FIG. 2 is an enlarged elevation of the wire spacing mechanism shown in FIG. 1,

FIG. 3 is a further enlarged view taken on line 33 of FIG. 2, and

FIG. 4 is a plan view taken on line 4-4 of FIG. 1.

In the drawings 10 indicates a cementitious tank having a cylindrical wall 12 which is required to be placed under preloaded compression by banding as above described. In -a preferred form of my invention as illustrated in the drawings, the banding is performed conveniently and economically by a tractor 14 resting on the ground outside the tank wall and adapted to be traveled around the tank, a castor roll 16 being provided for keeping the tractor spaced from the wall. The tractor carries a reel 22 of wire 24 which is trailed therefrom and handed uniformly onto the tank by mechanism comprising my invention is the tractor travels around the tank.

A carriage 60 is supported on wheels 62 riding on the top surface of the wall 12, the carriage being supported against later-a1 displacement by wheels 64 and 66 engaging the outside and inside surfaces of the wall, as shown The wire spacing mechanism 20 as illustrated in the drawing comprises a frame 28 pivotally connected to the arm 18 at 30 and having a Uashaped free end. A shaft '32 is supported at its ends in this end portion of the frame :and is secured thereto as by pins 34. Two rollers 36 and 38 are mounted to rotate on bearings 40 on the cylindrical ends of the shaft inside of the opposing arms 42 of the frame 28. The roller 36 is in fixed position axially of the shaft 32 and is grooved circumferentially at 44 to receive the wire thereinto, this roller thus being adapted to ride on and be guided by a previously placed wire convolution as illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3. The roller 38 is also in fixed position axially of the shaft and is adapted to ride on the tank wall 12 and cooperate with the roller 36 in supporting the shaft and frame thereon. v

The portion of the shaft 32 between the rollers 36 and 38 is threaded and a nut member 46 is in threaded engagement therewith. One end of this member is of reduced diameter and rotatably supports on a bearing 48 thereon a roller 50 circumferentially grooved-at 52 to receive the wire 24-. A lock nut 54 is also threaded to the shaft for engaging the member and securing it in rotary adjusted position on the shaft. The member 50 is adjusted to space the grooves 44 and 52 .a distance corresponding to the wire convolution spacing desired and the member is then secured in such position by the lock out 54.

The operation of the wire spacing mechanism herein described is believed apparent. The first convolution of wire is placed by anchoring the end of the wire 24 to the wall 12 and trailing the wire onto the Wall as the tractor travels therearound. The roller 36 is then placed on this or a succeeding convolution and the trailing portion of the wire rearwardly of the tractor is placed in the groove 52 over the roller 50, the parts being so disposed that the wire is slightly bent inwardly as it passes over the roller 50 (FIG. 1). As the tractor moves forwardly in the direction of the arrow (FIG. 1) the roller 36 follows and is guided by the previously placed convolution, and the wire is trailed from the reel 22 through the tensioning die 26, over the roller 50 and onto the wall '12. The angular deflection of the tensioned wire over the roller 50' automatically maintains the rollers 36 and 38 in rolling contact with the wall and the roller 50 automatically guides and places the new convolution the required spaced distance from the previous convolution. This automatic and accurate spacing of the trailing wire onto the wall continues throughout the winding operation with the result that all convolutions are accurately spaced in accordance with the adjusted position of the member 46 and its wire uiding roller 50.

It will be understood that I have herein illustrated a preferred embodiment of my invention and that various modifications thereof within the scope of the appended claims are apparent.

What I claim as new and desire to secure *by Letters Patent is:

1. Apparatus for handing the upright and continuous wall of a tank circumferentially with a continuous wire, comprising a power driven vehicle disposed to travel about and trail said wire therefrom and into contact with said wall and including means for supporting the trailed wire at a predetermined elevation adjacent to but spaced from the wall, means connected to and movable with the vehicle for placing the trailed wire under predetermined tension, and wire guiding and spacing means connected to and trailing from the vehicle rearwardly of the wire tensioning means and including a circumferentially grooved roller disposed to ride on a previously placed convolution of said wire and a member connected to and in predetermined spaced relation axially from the roller and having a channel therein for receiving said trailed wire thereinto and guiding it onto said wall in said predetermined spaced relation from said previously placed convolution.

2. The apparatus defined in claim 1 plus a second roller spaced axially from the first named roller and disposed to ride on said wall and cooperate with the first named roller to support said member in spaced relation from said wall, said wire receiving channel being disposed at the outer side of said member relative to the wall whereby inward deflection of the tensioned wire against the member in the channel maintains the rollers in pressure riding contact with the wall.

3. A wire spacing trailer connected to and trailed from a mobile wire banding machine and disposed to space a wire trailed from and by the machine into uniformly spaced convolutions on and about the vertical cylindrical wall of a relatively large stationary tank, said trailer comprising in combination, a frame, two axially spaced rollers rotatably supported on the frame and supporting the frame in rolling contact on said wall, one of said rollers being annularly grooved at its periphery for receiving said wire thereinto and riding at its groove on a previously placed convolution of the wire, and a third roller annularly grooved at its periphery and disposed to rotate freely on the frame when said axially spaced rollers are in said rolling contact with said wall, said wire trailed from and by the machine extending into and through the groove of said third roller at the outer side of its axis, and means carried by the machine for maintaining the trailed wire under predetermined tension and in lateral pressure contact with the third roller in said groove, said lateral pressure contact maintaining the frame in rolling contact with the wall and said third roller guiding the wire onto said wall in predetermined spaced relation from said previously placed convolution.

4. The combination defined in claim 3 in which said third roller is disposed between said two axially spaced rollers.

5. The combination defined in claim 4 plus a shaft supported in the frame and rotatably supporting all of said rollers thereon.

6. The combination defined in claim 5 plus means comprising a member disposed coaxially on and in thread ed engagement with the shaft for effecting a relative axial adjustment of the annularly grooved rollers, said third roller being rotatably mounted on the member coaxially of the shaft.

7. The combination defined in claim 3 in which said third roller is disposed coaxially of and is of less diameter than said two rollers.

References Cited in the file of this patent 

1. APPARATUS FOR BANDING THE UPRIGHT AND CONTINUOUS WALL OF A TANK CIRCUMFERENTIALLY WITH A CONTINUOUS WIRE, COMPRISING A POWER DRIVEN VEHICLE DISPOSED TO TRAVEL ABOUT AND TRAIL SAID WIRE THEREFROM AND INTO CONTACT WITH SAID WALL AND INCLUDING MEANS FRO SUPPORTING THE TRAILED WIRE AT A PREDETERMINED ELEVATION ADJACENT TO BUT SPACED FROM THE WALL, MEANS CONNECTED TO AND MOVABLE WITH THE VEHICLE FOR PLACING THE TRAILED WIRE UNDER PREDETERMINED TENSION, AND WIRE GUIDING AND SPACING MEANS CONNECTED TO AND TRAILING FROM THE VEHICLE REARWARDLY OF THE IE TENSIONING MEANS AND INCLUDING A CIRCUMFERENTIALLY GROOVED ROLLER DISPOSED TO RIDE ON A PREVIOUSLY PLACED CONVOLUTION OF SAID WIRE AND A MEMBER CONNECTED TO AND IN PREDETERMINED SPACED RELATION AXIALLY FROM THE ROLLER AND HAVING A CHANNEL THEREIN FOR RECEIVING SAID TRAILED WIRE THEREINTO AND GUIDING IT ONTO SAID WALL IN SAID PREDETERMINED SPACED RELATION FROM SAID PREVIOUSLY PLACED CONVOLUTION. 